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Only when we acknowledge the challenges ("winter"), we are able to overcome it.
Pase is definitely a tough place with uncertain outcome. But his margin of safety and small investment should carry it over.
My views are your Gilbert & Sullivan's:
"The flowers that bloom in the spring, have nothing to do with the case".
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Yes guru GG.... Mr Wong is a man of integrity and he does take care of shareholders
I was very very lucky to cash out my stake last year.
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Winston Churchill:-
“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”
"The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see."
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09-12-2015, 06:42 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-12-2015, 06:46 PM by ksir.)
Personally, I think chasing the cheap won't make Boustead big. Probably it's time to move on to chase Good Biz at reasonable price (think of ESRI) than to chase cheap & shorter term ventures (think of OMH, Biotreat, solar panel in Japan, big box and current gas field). Case in point (pardon the generalisation), Bershire became big & more sustaining when Buffett is more Mungerized.
IMHO, the main difference between the former & latter is in the Management.
My views are your Gilbert & Sullivan's:
"The flowers that bloom in the spring, have nothing to do with the case".
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The problem may be that the larger the acquisition, the higher the risks too. FF Wong has always been conservative and I am sure he has learnt from his past mistakes.
I'm not surprised to read about the latest setback. Think about it though - BSL has gone through a lot over the years (including the Libyan crisis) but has always managed to generate good FCF and continue paying dividends. Seeing both their divisions at a cyclical low (i.e. O&G and Real Estate), perhaps this is when true value emerges.
I don't think they need a large acquisition; in fact they may not even need bolt-on ones; but they do need to run their existing operations smoothly to sail through this storm.
(Vested)
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10-12-2015, 12:00 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-12-2015, 12:04 AM by ksir.)
I have no doubt in FF Wong's conservativeness.
He has proven times and again in several past ventures:
1. Managed a triple return from its bet in Biotreat, albeit insignificant numbers as compared to BSL market cap.
2. Escaped from OMH venture timely, look at the price now!
3. Japan's solar panel, no news, probably insignificant bet.
4. Wuxi industrial venture, good return albeit small figures.
Those are all very conservative value bets with its shorter term in nature.
It's more of the Graham's bets than more sustainable and good Management/Business focused Fisher Investments.
I hope FF Wong's legacy in Boustead would be in the latter rather than the former.
He could have handled the former bets conservatively well, but I doubt his successor would be as good.
IMHO, buying great business with reasonable price is probably what is lacking in Boustead.
<vested, one of my core>
My views are your Gilbert & Sullivan's:
"The flowers that bloom in the spring, have nothing to do with the case".
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